Girdle



F.M.CAPE

Oct. 27, 1964 GIRDLE Filed Nov. 15, 1961 HVVENTOR FLORENCE M.

CAPE

Fig. 4

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,154,082 GIRDLE Florence M. Cape,Monterey, Calif, assignor to Powder Melting Corporation, Monterrey,Calif, a corporation of California Filed Nov. 13, 1961, Ser. No. 151,3452 Claims. (6i. 128-527) ing the entire girdle from the body, but it isalso virtually impossible to replace the closure while the girdle isworn. Moreover, the fasteners used, being usually made of metal, aresubject to corrosion or rusting under the conditions under which thegirdle is used.

It has also been proposed, as in Patent No. 2,453,063, to provide aclosure for the crotch opening of a girdle, in which the closure isremovably secured to the girdle by means of zippers. Such a closure isalso impractical, not only because it is difficult to remove and replacethe closure, but also because the zipper parts, if made of metal, aresubject to corrosion and rusting, and because of the rather complicatedstructure used to prevent chafing of body parts. The use of zippers alsopresents a hazard, in that parts of the body can be caught in the zipperstrucure.

The present invention has as its principal object the provision of agirdle of the character described, in which a closure is employed forthe fenestra or crotch opening of the girdle, which closure is soconstructed and is secured to the gridle in such a manner as to overcomeall of the aforesaid disadvantages of prior art closures.

Another object of the invention is to provide a girdle of the characterdescribed, embodying a fenestra closure which can be quickly and easilyremoved, without removal of the girdle from the body, and which can beas quickly and easily replaced.

A further object of the invention is to provide a girdle of thecharacter described, embodying a fenestra closure and means forremovably securing the closure to the girdle, in which such means iscompletely devoid of parts or fastening means which can cause chafing ofthe body, become corroded or rusted, or can cause any injury or damageto portions of the body, in the area of the crotch.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during thecourse of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, andin which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same,

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, showing a gridle embodying theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of a girdle embodymg the invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, on a somewhat enlargedscale, taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, on a somewhat enlargedscale, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but of a modification of theinvention.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive of the drawings,there is illustrated a girdle, having a fenestra or opening 2, in thecrotch area of the girdle, which opening, as is well understood, is usedto permit natural body functions of the wearer, without requiringremoval of the girdle from the body.

Secured to the external or outer surface of the girdle, along the marginof the fenestra or opening 2, as by means of stitching 3, is a strip 4of a woven nylon tape, which forms one of the two strips of a fastener,which is preferably of the type known as a Velcro fastener. The otherstrip of the fastener, similarly of a woven nylon tape, is designated byreference numeral 5. Fasteners of this type are described in US. PatentNo. 2,717,437, to which reference may be had for a completeunderstanding of their construction and use.

In brief, the strip 4 is provided on its outer surface with raised pilethreads, and the strip 5 is similarly provided on its inner surface withraised pile threads, so that when the strips 4 and 5 are pressedtogether, by mere hand pressure, the threads interlock with each otherto cause removable securement of the strip 5 to the strip 4, thissecurement being such as to maintain the strip 5 secured to the strip 4under all normal conditions of wear of the girdle, as well as duringlaundering of the girdle. At the same time, the strip 5 can be readilyremoved from the strip 4 by merely pulling the strip 5 away from thestrip 4. The interlocked threads of the strips 4 and 5 are generallydesignated by reference numeral 6.

Secured to that marginal portion of the strip 5 which lies adjacent thefenestra of opening 2 as by means of stitching 7, is a closure orclosure member, which may be made of any desired fabric, as for example,silk or nylon, and which is of an area and conformation to elfectivelyclose the fenestra or opening 2, while conforming generally to the shapeof the body at the crotch.

In order to facilitate replacement of the closure 8, after performanceof the body functions, the strip 5 may be permanently secured to thegirdle 1 at a point at the rear of the girdle, as by stitching 9 (seeFIG. 3). The only purpose of this is to prevent the closure, when it ispulled away from the girdle to expose the opening 2, from becomingentirely detached from the girdle, since complete detachment mightrequire the wearer to spend some additional time to insure that theclosure is properly reattached. Another reason for this is to preventpossible loss of the closure during laundering of the garment. However,it is to be understood that it is not necessary that the closure be thuspermanently secured to the girdle, and the closure may, in fact, becompletely detachable from the strip 4, when body functions are to beperformed. Where the closure is thus completely detachable, it can beseparately laundered, or replaced with a clean or new closure.

In FIG. 5, the construction is identical with that shown in FIG. 3, butin this case, the stitching 9 of FIG. 3, has been replaced by a snapfastener 10, which fastens the strip 5 to the girdle at this point, soas to prevent complete detachment of the closure from the girdle, whenthe girdle is to be laundered. The fastener 10, in other words, willsecure the closure to the girdle, at this point, even when the closureis detached at all other points to permit the natural body functions.The closure may, however, be completely detached to permit it to be separately laundered, or replaced with a clean or new closure.

It is thus seen that I have devised a closure arrangement for girdleswhich arrangement overcomes all the disadvantages of prior artdisclosures, which can be quickly and easily removed from the girdle,without removal of the girdle from the body, which can be as quickly andeasily reattached or replaced, and which utilizes securing means whichare completely devoid of parts or fasteners which can cause chafing ofthe body, or any injury damage to portions of the body in the area ofthe crotch.

Although the invention has been described with particular reference to agirdle, it will be understood that it is also applicable to otherundergarments of this general type.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention, herewith shown anddescribed, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and thatvarious changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of partsthereof, without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scopeof the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A garment comprising: a body including front, back and crotchportions defining a garment having leg openings and a crotch areabetween said leg openings; said body being provided with an opening inthe crotch area defined by a continuous marginal edge spaced from saidleg openings whereby to leave said leg openings intact; a closure panelhaving an area sufficient to close said open ing of said crotch area anda marginal edge of substantially the same extent as said marginal edgeof said body; outwardly directed first raised pile means secured to andextending along said marginal edge of said opening; inwardly directedraised pile means secured to and extendcrotch opening.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,477,593 8/49Gershenow 128527 2,531,772 11/50 Erteszek 128-527 2,717,437 9/55 DeMestral 2872 3,057,354 10/62 Roberts et a1. 128-289 FOREIGN PATENTS1,223,713 2/60 France.

LOUIS R. PRINCE, Primary Examiner. ADELE M. EAGER, Examiner.

1. A GARMENT COMPRISING: A BODY INCLUDING FRONT, BACK AND CROTCHPORTIONS DEFINING A GARMENT HAVING LEG OPENINGS AND A CROTCH AREABETWEEN SAID LEG OPENINGS; SAID BODY BEING PROVIDED WITH AN OPENING INTHE CROTCH AREA DEFINED BY A CONTINUOUS MARGINAL EDGE SPACED FROM SAIDLEG OPENINGS WHEREBY TO LEAVE SAID LEG OPENINGS INTACT; A CLOSURE PANELHAVING AN AREA SUFFICIENT TO CLOSE SAID OPENING OF SAID CROTCH AREA ANDA MARGINAL EDGE OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME EXTENT AS SAID MARGINAL EDGEOF SAID BODY; OUTWARDLY DIRECTED FIRST RAISED PILE MEANS SECURED TO ANDEXTENDING ALONG SAID MARGINAL EDGE OF SAID OPENING; INWARDLY DIRECTEDRAISED PILE MEANS SECURED TO AND EXTENDING ALONG SAID MARGINAL EDGE OFSAID CLOSURE PANEL; SAID FIRST AND SECOND RAISED PILE MEANS ADAPTED TOBE INTERENGAGED TO RELEASABLY SECURE SAID CLOSURE PANEL TO SAID BODYPORTION TO CLOSE SAID OPENING.